The Slider by T Rex, A Capella by Todd Rundgren, a Ravens Collection, Grooves in Orbit by NRBQ

So I had no intention of spinning anything specific this evening. I was more doing more tests with that amplifier pictured up above there – it is a tube amp I had reworked and re-tubed…it sounds amazing now. I was gonna sell it, but am having second and third thoughts for sure – it may stay right where it is…so warm.

I had played some Hendrix and the Replacements while puttering around, then took a break to make something for dinner. After I ate, I was going to clean some records I had bought recently, so was randomly grabbing from the stacks…here’s some of what happened next.

The Slider – T.Rex

I love the hell out of this record – Bolan is such a weirdo. My copy is pretty beat up, but I don’t care – maybe in a way, every copy I have ever heard was pretty beat up as well. Because we all were playing the hell out of it. It is one of those that the pops feel so natural on, to me – sorry, you millennial vinyl queers. I like a little surface noise sometimes, for warmth. You should hear some of my 78s.

If you are not familiar with the stylings of Marc Bolan, he was a glam rocker leading this band in the early- to mid-70s. I especially like this record and the one before it, Electric Warrior, if you are looking for some new stuff to try and don’t have them.

His songs are heavy on the crunchy Les Paul, with silly lyrics and all kinds of strange sounds. He sings in a truly unique way, and plays the hell out of his guitar. He was about my favorite of the glam rockers of this time – I just liked his records more than Gary Glitter’s or Bowie, or the New York Dolls, or anyone else doing glam stuff then, except maybe the Sweet. I wasn’t ready for Roxy Music’s weirdness yet, but could get behind Bolan’s and the first two T. Rex lps are fun as hell for me, always.

No idea why it came up to play tonight, other than I grabbed it indiscriminately from the stack. Once in my hand though, I had to hear Telegram Sam before I could put it away, so I guess that was the impetus. I was well rewarded. 🙂

Grooves In Orbit – NRBQ

I saw this as I was flipping through a pile of unsorted stuff – the familiar orange cover was like an old friend, calling out to me.

I had a love affair with NRBQ in the late 80s early 90s – they were my favorite band to see live by a long shot. They were AMAZING live – they could play anything, and they would. Their sets would cover all their own stuff but shitloads of covers too – anything from Thelonius Monk to Carl Perkins to something currently on the radio. Insanely fun, and better musicians have never hit a stage, in my opinion. I only wish other people could have seen them like I did – they were crazy cool.

This record was one I spun like crazy when I got it in about 1986 – it was one of my morning records. I would play Smackaroo really loud to get moving, and still to this day, have no idea what they are saying. The bass line, was simply Joey going up and down the neck – I remember seeing him do it live and laughing my ass off, because he never really hits a note while he never isn’t, either. We decided they looked like they were pretending to play, that’s how good they were…it didn’t even look real.

But this record is still one of my personal faves – you get that energetic opening then get to dig the hell out of the perfect pop of Rain at the Drive-In and so much more. I gave this record to a friend recently, and he just didn’t get it – I almost wish I had that one back to give to someone else. I never thought of NRBQ as a band you had to “get,” but there you go. Live and learn.

My favorite NRBQ album might be All Hopped Up, but there are solid songs across all of them, and this record specifically, was one I never grew tired of spinning with my coffee to get moving. Their records all conjure such fun memories for me, of seeing them simply SHRED it live particularly – putting on a show no one could match in musicality, or pure fun from note one until they kicked us all out of the bar.

A Capella – Todd Rundgren

I was working in a record store when this one came out, and we played it to DEATH in the store. I played the side with Lockjaw and Mighty Love to bring back some memories – I was not disappointed.

Rundgren can be a bit spotty for me, especially after this record – but this one, was pretty amazingly wonderful to me, start to end. He did it all with his voice, but he did have a Fairlight sampler to make it rock and swirl, too. Miracle in the Bazaar was fun to hear again, as it is weird and pretty silly – just Todd messing around with studio toys. I spun Mighty Love twice too, before slipping this one back on the shelf.

As an artist, Todd has released so much stuff, it is a chore to even try to keep up with him. Hermit of Mink Hollow may still be about my favorite record of his, but this one is no slouch in my personal canon by any means. It conjures memories of playing it in the record store, and trying to talk housewives and yuppies into buying it. My band at the time, used to sing stuff from this to warm-up for gigs – we sang Honest Work while we loaded equipment in the truck. I think I did the display for it too, cutting up the album flats and stapling them to the wall to make something pretty and three-dimensional.

We certainly played this one more than it was warranted for how many it sold, and my copy is probably the same one we played in the store back then – or one I bought to replace that one. This is a great record though – you’d dig it if you have never heard it…give it a try. This one, Hermit of Mink Hollow and the double-set Something/Anything are great Todd records for someone trying to understand his appeal. There are more, but you do wanna pick and select your Rundgren, to me…he has a ton of filler.

The Greatest Group of Them All, Roots of Rock and Roll Volume 3 – The Ravens

Vocal groups have a special place in my heart. I fell in love with 50s stuff like Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers on 45s I found in the 80s which made me dig further, finding 78s of stuff like the Ravens, the Robins, the Clovers, and so many more. After spinning Rundgren’s vocal workout on lp this evening, this Ravens’ collection made sense to me, to wrap-up the night’s musical romp. Plus, I just randomly grabbed it, so why not.

I ended up spinning the whole thing – this is a two-record set. Like so much stuff, I really dig the earliest stuff, compared to the later recordings – I just tend to like things that are early and raw, I guess. These guys were pretty much finished in the 50s, so their hottest sides are mid-40s, which is awesome by me. The records of this time are not sweetened by studio trickery yet…they are cut live and vocal groups like the Ravens were exploring all the seeds of rock and roll.

One thing that makes these guys fun and a little unique for their time if you are not familiar, is the fact their bass singer (Jimmy Ricks) takes the lead in most of their stuff – I love that. His voice is impossibly low – it’s awesome. The soprano is equally high on the other end of the scale, which makes it just lovely.

But like The Mills Brothers, I can binge on this stuff for a long time – there is so much soul in it to me, even when they are doing more simpy covers of traditional crap, they simply can’t help but rock.

I forgive vocal groups thru 1960 a lot for any missteps in material – they had it pretty tough, and still delivered some of the grooviest stuff, ever. Most of the time they couldn’t select their own material or call any shots, so you can forgive a few wimpy moments. The Ravens were like Fats Waller before them though, in that they could breathe new life and infectious swing into an otherwise dull and simpy song.

This Savoy collection is a good one to jump into – if you are like me, you’ll find stuff on every side to be smiling about. Deep Purple, is just lovely, and unlike any other version of it I have heard…I love that song, whoever is doing it it seems. I also highly recommend other groups from this time period who competed against the Ravens – most of them are cooler than hell, and collections like this one, or the Clovers’ hits collection Down In the Alley are pretty much solid, start to finish for delicious vocal group happiness.